iCube Qamar, Pakistan’s lunar satellite, has transmitted its inaugural image from orbit following three successful lunar orbits.
The iCube Qamar was deployed as part of China’s Chang’e-6 mission, launching from Hainan, China, on May 3rd. The Pakistan Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (SUPARCO) confirmed that the iCube Qamar successfully entered Lunar orbit on May 8th.
The satellite is currently capturing images of the moon from a distance of 200 kilometers using its two cameras. The ICUBE-Q satellite has been jointly designed and developed by the Institute of Space Technology (IST), Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU) in China, and Pakistan’s national space agency SUPARCO.
Earlier, the iCube-Qamar successfully achieved lunar orbit at 1:14 PM Pakistan time on Wednesday. Since its deployment on the moon, the satellite has been operating within the designated parameters.
A spokesperson from SUPARCO confirmed that all subsystem health data of iCube-Qamar are reported to be excellent. Moreover, the imaging payload is fully operational.
